title: Increased expression of urotensin II-related peptide and its receptor in kidney with hypertension or renal failure.
abstract: Urotensin II-related peptide (URP) is a novel vasoactive peptide that shares urotensin II receptor (UT) with urotensin II. In order to clarify possible changes of URP expression in hypertension and chronic renal failure (CRF), the expressions of URP and UT were studied by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry in kidneys obtained from spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR), Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY), and WKY with CRF due to 5/6 nephrectomy. Expression levels of URP mRNA and UT mRNA were significantly higher in the kidneys obtained from SHR compared with age-matched WKY (at 5-16 and 16 weeks old, respectively). A dissection study of the kidney into three portions (inner medulla, outer medulla and cortex) showed that the expression levels of URP mRNA and UT mRNA were highest in the inner medulla and the outer medulla, respectively, in both SHR and WKY. The expression levels of URP and UT mRNAs were greatly elevated in the remnant kidneys of CRF rats at day 56 after nephrectomy, compared with sham-operated rats (about 6.5- and 11.9-fold, respectively). Immunohistochemistry showed that URP immunostaining was found mainly in the renal tubules, vascular smooth muscle cells and vascular endothelial cells. UT immunoreactivity was localized in the renal tubules and vascular endothelial cells. These findings suggest that the expressions of URP and UT mRNAs in the kidney are enhanced in hypertension and CRF, and that URP and its receptor have important pathophysiological roles in these diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Rehabilitation Science, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8574, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuyoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Takuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanazawa
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kohzuki
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Kazuhito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Totsune
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015870:Gene Expression; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D014579:Urotensins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D036361:Peptide Hormones; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D014579:Urotensins; C473142:Uts2r protein, rat; C479081:urotensin II-related peptide, rat; C029677:urotensin II